Dry flake sampler

ABSTRACT

A dry flake sampler for vessels wherein a tubular spout has a bent handle rotatable under the bias of a spring for selective limited movement of a closure member for the spout. The inside wall of the spout may be provided with tapered flow converging wedge members.

United States Patent [72] lnventor ThomasJ.Tobiassen Pensacola, F la. 21 AppLNo. 822,636 [22] Filed May7,l969

[45] Patented June 8, 1971 [73] Assignee Monsanto Company St. Louis, Mo.

[54] DRY FLAKE SAMPLER 3 Claims, 4 Drawing Figs.

us. Cl 73/421 Goln 1/20 Field of Search 73/421 R,

[56] References Cited UNITEDSTATES PATENTS 304,214 8/1884 McCarthy 222/449X 1,929,694 10/1933 Judson,Jr 222/519 2,069,354 2/1937 Chamberlain. 222/566 3,000,219 9/1961 De Boalt 73/424X 3,179,303 4/1965 Dankoff et a1. 222/452X 3,319,671 5/1967 Wiseman 222/557X 2,739,740 3/1956 Livingstone ZZZ/566x Primary Examiner-Louis R. Prince Assistant Examiner-Daniel M. Yasich AttorneyStanley M. Tarter ABSTRACT: A dry flake sampler for vessels wherein a tubular spout has a bent handle rotatable under the bias of a spring for selective limited movement of a closure member for the spout. The inside wall of the spout may be provided with tapered flow converging wedge members.

PATEN'TEUJUN elem 3583.228

INVENTOR. THOMAS J. TOBIASSEN DRY FLAKE SAMPLER BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION There is a need, where vessels such as hoppers, containers, blenders, tubes and similar structures are used in the processing or storing of dry powders, flake, grains and other comminuted materials, for a ready and convenient means of obtaining a representative sample from the vessels.

For example, in the production of nylon, a molten ribbon of polymeric material is spread onto a casting drum, chilled, delivered to a chopper and chipped into a flake. The nylon flake is delivered into portable blenders, processed, removed therefrom and stored in hoppers.

A typical blender has a screw for mixing the flake and a covered opening in the bottom for the removal of flake. Normally, it is necessary to obtain a representative flake sample from a blender for analysis. The method employed is to extract the flake sample from the bottom of the blender through the usual discharge door. This method, however, is not accommodating. Generally, the blender discharge door is too large and not adapted for removal or thieving of small quantities of sample material. Since the door is located at the bottom of the blender, there is always a possibility of withdrawing residue flake remaining from a previous batch processed through the blender.

It is therefore the main object of the present invention to provide a vessel having a sampler for obtaining representative material from a preferred area in the vessel.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The invention comprises a dry flake processing or storage vessel having a sampler tube extending interiorly exteriorly thereof. The sampler tube has a swingable, gate cover at its interior end and a control handle at its end projecting from the vessel for rotating the gate cover to open and closed positions. The end of the sampler tube projecting from the vessel is provided with an internally tapered spout, preferably.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING In the drawing:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a vessel incorporating a sampler,

FIG. 2 is a cross section view of the sampler,

F IG. 3 is a perspective view of the sampler cover, and

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the spout of the sampler.

DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring to the drawing, FIG. 1 illustrates a vessel 2, such as a blender, having a sampler 4 associated therewith. The vessel 2 is not drawn to scale, and the sampler 4 is shown larger than its relative size for clarity reasons.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, sampler 4 consists of an elongated tube 6 suitably afiixed intermediate its ends to a sidewall 8 of vessel 2. The inner end of tube 6 extends interiorly of vessel 2 to a selected area, and the outer end projects exteriorly therefrom.

The outer end of tube 6 has a segment cut away longitudinally of the tube forming a substantially semicircular tubular end 10 or spout.

A pair of spaced, axially aligned bushings, 12 and 14, are attached as by welding to the interior wall of tube 6. The bushings are aligned longitudinally in the plane of the cutaway portion of tube 6.

A rod 16 is journaled within bushings l2 and 14 and extends substantially the length of the tube. The upper end of rod 16, adjacent to the upper end of tube 6, has a square key 18 and a threaded terminal end 20. A gate, door, or cover 22, having a squared, eccentrically positioned opening 24 complementary to key 18, is keyed on the latter to cover the inner end of tube 6, FIG. 3. Cover 22 is retained on rod 16 by washers and a nut threaded on the threaded rod end 20.

Rod 16 is bent at an angle of 90 from its normal axis at its lower end to form a handle 26. A spring 28, for biasing cover 22 against the inner end of tube 6, is caged or compressed on rod 16 between a retaining washer 30 fixed on rod 16 adjacent handle 26, and a retaining washer 32 on rod 16 that is spring biased against bushing 14. Spring 28 permits a force to be applied to handle 26 upwardly against the bias of spring 28 so that cover 22 may be lifted from the end of tube 6 should it be necessary to dislodge flake that may be binding the cover 22.

Preferably, the handle is bent such that it is rotatable through 180 between the opposite, longitudinal sidewalls defining spout 10 of tube 16. Cover 22 is mounted so that when handle 26 is rotated 180 in one direction, cover 22 is displaced to an open position uncovering the inner end of tube 6, and when rotated in the opposite direction, cover 22 is displaced to a closed position covering the inner end of tube 6. The opposite longitudinal walls defining spout l0 serve to limit the rotation of rod 16 and handle 26, and are a ready reference of open and closed positions of cover 22.

The inside wall of spout 10 may be tapered by providing tapered wedge members 34, FIG. 4, to converge the flake material into a stream when extracted from the blender 2.

lclaim:

l. A device for removing samples of comminuted material from a vessel comprising,

a tubular member having a portion cut away at one end thereof forming a spout to one side thereof,

bushing means secured to the inner wall defining the bore of said tubular member opposite said one side thereof,

a shaft journaled within said bushing means, said shaft having an extension along said cut away portion,

handle means connected at the end of said extension and bent so as to extend through said cut away portion for limited movement therein,

a cover attached to said shaft for said tubular member opposite said handle end,

spring means caged on said shaft extension between said handle means and said tubular member for normally biasing said shaft in one direction to bias said cover against the end of said tubular member opposite said spout end, said cover adapted to be selectively displaced from said tubular member, said spring means also permitting lifting of said cover from said tubular member by shifting said shaft in the opposite direction against the force of said spring means.

2. A device for removing samples of comminuted material from a vessel as in claim 1, wherein said handle is oscillatable between walls defining said spout.

3. In combination with a vessel, a device for removing samples of comminuted material therefrom comprising:

' a tubular member having a portion cut away at one end thereof forming a spout to one side thereof,

bushing means secured to the inner wall defining the bore of said tubular member opposite said one side thereof,

a shaft journaled within said bushing means, said shaft having an extension along said cut away portion,

handle means connected at the end of said extension and bent so as to extend through said cut away portion for limited movement therein,

a cover attached to said shaft for said tubular member opposite said handle end,

spring means caged on said shaft extension between said handle means and said tubular member for normally biasing said shaft in one direction to bias said cover against the end of said tubular member opposite said spout end, said cover adapted to be selectively displaced from said tubular member, said spring means also permitting lifting of said cover from said tubular member by shifting said shaft in the opposite direction against the force of said spring means flange means for attaching said tubular member intermediate its ends to a vessel so that said cover end of said tubular member extends interiorly of said vessel and the handle end of said tubular member projects exteriorly therefrom. 

1. A device for removing samples of comminuted material from a vessel comprising, a tubular member having a portion cut away at one end thereof forming a spout to one side thereof, bushing means secured to the inner wall defining the bore of said tubular member opposite said one side thereof, a shaft journaled within said bushing means, said shaft having an extension along said cut away portion, handle means connected at the end of said extension and bent so as to extend through said cut away portion for limited movement therein, a cover attached to said shaft for said tubular member opposite said handle end, spring means caged on said shaft extension between said handle means and said tubular member for normally biasing said shaft in one direction to bias said cover against the end of said tubular member opposite said spout end, said cover adapted to be selectively displaced from said tubular member, said spring means also permitting lifting of said cover from said tubular member by shifting said shaft in the opposite direction against the force of said spring means.
 2. A device for removing samples of comminuted material from a vessel as in claim 1, wherein said handle is oscillatable between walls defining said spout.
 3. In combination with a vessel, a device for removing samples of comminuted material therefrom comprising: a tubular member having a portion cut away at one end thereof forming a spout to one side thereof, bushing means secured to the inner wall defining the bore of said tubular member opposite said one side thereof, a shaft journaled within said bushing means, said shaft having an extension along said cut away portion, handle means connected at the end of said extension and bent so as to extend through said cut away portion for limited movement therein, a cover attached to said shaft for said tubular member opposite said handle end, spring means caged on said shaft extension between said handle means and said tubular member for normally biasing said shaft in one direction to bias said cover against the end of said tuBular member opposite said spout end, said cover adapted to be selectively displaced from said tubular member, said spring means also permitting lifting of said cover from said tubular member by shifting said shaft in the opposite direction against the force of said spring means flange means for attaching said tubular member intermediate its ends to a vessel so that said cover end of said tubular member extends interiorly of said vessel and the handle end of said tubular member projects exteriorly therefrom. 